SportAccord 2021 Moves to November - Conferences & Conventions

(ATR) The long-awaited decision to postpone SportAccord 2021 finally became reality this week.

The 19th edition of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit will remain in Ekaterinburg, Russia but will now be held from November 7-12, 2021.

"As always, the wellbeing of our delegates is our priority, and we believe that moving SportAccord to later in the year will give those wishing to attend the event more time to put in place the necessary plans,"Raffaele Chiulli, President of SportAccord and GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations), said in a statement announcing the delay.

"We look forward to welcoming the world of sport to Ekaterinburg in November for what will be a game-changing gathering to signal a major step forward in the recovery of sport and society as we look to the future, beyond the pandemic," he added

The convention had been scheduled for May 23 to 28 but Chiulli, speaking on an ATRadio podcast back in February, hinted then that a change was coming.

Chiulli told Around the Rings that many of the international federations who attend the event would be preoccupied in late May with final preparations and qualifications for the postponed Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo.

Besides the demands on IFs preparing for Tokyo, he said lingering lockdowns and restrictions on travel from the pandemic were additional hurdles for holding SportAccord 2021 in May.

In recent weeks, the May dates for the event had been replaced with "to be confirmed" on the SportAccord website.

Those who wish to register for the convention in November can do so here.

SportAccord also announced on Wednesday that the annual International Federation (IF) Forum, which is traditionally held in the autumn in Lausanne, Switzerland, has been brought forward to May 25 and will be staged in a fully virtual format via Lausanne.

In addition, a virtual launch celebration from around the world for SportAccord 2021 in Ekaterinburg will take place on May 25 following the IF Forum.

Plans for SportAccord in 2020 were scuttled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally set for Beijing, the event was moved to Lausanne. But limits on the size of meetings in Switzerland put an end to that plan. It was the first time in 17 years that SportAccord wasn’t held.

Sportel+ eTALKS Sessions Scheduled

Sportel’s new virtual platform Sportel+ turned its focus to esports for the second in a series of what it calls eTALKS.

The two online sessions were held on April 8 in collaboration with Esports Insider.

Sportel+ eTALKS, which the company says is designed to complement live events and connect with the community digitally, discuss evolving trends emerging from the pandemic and beyond.

The next two eTALKS have been scheduled. "Sports Business Opportunities in the US" will be on May 6 and "The Future of Sports Tech" in collaboration with SVG is set for July 8.

Click hereto register. The events are free to attend.

The first two sessions in the series were held on March 11 and focused on sports media rights and new broadcast strategies.

Meanwhile, Sportel is preparing for the next edition of Sportel Monaco, scheduled for October 5-7, 2021.

Last year's edition had originally been pushed back from its traditional October spot to February 22-24, 2021. But in January it was decided to delay it again so that the event could be 100 percent face-to-face.

ITF to Host Forum on Gender Equality Next Week

The International Tennis Federation will host a global forum on gender equality in sport on April 12.

The latest initiative under the ITF’s "Advantage All" strategy will open with Billie Jean King live in conversation with sports broadcaster Catherine Whitaker.

Two panel discussions will follow. The first, entitled "Change the System", will discuss the key issues related to inequalities in leadership positions and decision making roles. Among the confirmed speakers are IOC Athletes Commission chair Kirsty Coventry and Caroline Courtin, the head of diversity, equality & inclusion for BNP Paribas Group.

The second panel discussion is called "See It To Be It" and will focus on the portrayal and perception of women’s sports and female athletes in the media and on social media.

Victoria Azarenka, who has won two Grand Slam tennis titles and is a former world No. 1, and Annika Sorenstam, who won 10 golf majors and is the president of the International Golf Federation, are among the speakers for this panel.

The live event, called "Level the Playing Field: Global Forum" is scheduled to run from 2pm to 5pm BST on April 12.

It will be available for live viewing on YouTube here.

SportsPro Live Agenda Set

The full agenda for the upcoming SportsPro Live virtual event is now available here.

Among the 40 hours of content on offer will be speakers including Andrea Gaudenzi, the chair of the ATP, the organization that runs men’s professional tennis, and Matchroom Sport Managing Director and boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.

Eurosport president Andrew Georgiou, DAZN’s co-CEO James Rushton and Olympic Broadcasting Services chief executive Yiannis Exarchos will also speak at the two-day event on April 28-29.

Click here to register for free. A VIP pass that also includes on-demand content access, networking access and access to the VIP attendee list costs £199 ($273).

International Federations Summit in April

The 4th edition of the International Federations Summit will be held virtually due to the pandemic.

The event is scheduled for April 21-22.

Organizers say that given their international audience, a flexible time schedule and menu of options is available to create an individualized workshop program.

There will be three different 90-minute workshops on offer for each day. Delegates can register for up to five.

The themes are Broadcast & Digital, Esports, International Federations & Associations, Host Cities, New Olympic Sports, and Venues.

To ensure"as real an experience as possible" for the online summit, organizers are offering Breakfast, Lunch and 'After Hours' roundtables to give delegates the opportunity to meet each other outside the program sessions.

Click here to register.

Written by Gerard Farek

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